Jonathan Foley, PhD, is a world-renowned environmental scientist, sustainability expert, educator, and public speaker. His work focuses on understanding our changing planet and finding new solutions to sustain the climate, ecosystems, and natural resources we all depend on. He serves as the executive director of Project Drawdown — the world's leading guide to science-based climate solutions.

Jon's groundbreaking research and insights have made him a trusted advisor to governments, foundations, non-profits, and business leaders worldwide. He and his colleagues have made major contributions to our understanding of global ecosystems, food systems, climate change, and the sustainability of the world's resources. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed scientific articles, including many highly cited works in Science, Nature, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2014, Thomson Reuters named him a Highly Cited Researcher in ecology and environmental science, placing him among the top 1% most-cited global scientists.

Jon has won numerous awards and honors for his work, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, awarded by President Clinton; the J.S. McDonnell Foundation's 21st Century Science Award; an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowship; the Sustainability Science Award from the Ecological Society of America; the National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career Development Award; and the Founders' Medal from the Native Plant Society. He was also awarded the prestigious Heinz Award for the Environment, the Atlas Award from the American Association of Geographers, and the Stephen H. Schneider Award for Climate Science Communication.

Before joining Project Drawdown, Jon led several world-leading environmental science and sustainability organizations. At the University of Wisconsin, he founded the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment and served as the Gaylord Nelson Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies. At the University of Minnesota, he served as the founding director of the Institute on the Environment, where he was also the McKnight Presidential Chair. He then served as the executive director of the California Academy of Sciences, the world's greenest and most forward-thinking science museum.